The US government appears to be loosening its
grip on the governance of the Internet, a move welcomed by many. But
critics see the government shirking its obligations to support free
expression and free trade.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),
the private corporation that coordinates the technical oversight of the
Internet's Domain Name System through a longstanding agreement with the U.S. government, on Wednesday announced a new agreement with US Department of Commerce designed to make Internet governance less unilateral and more open to international input.

PayPal
President Scott Thompson announced at Web 2.0 that the company would
open its platform to developers by opening up its APIs.

The international community has long chaffed at the fact the US
government had de facto control of the Internet and has pushed for a
greater say in its management. In June 2005, the Working Group on
Internet Governance issued a report stating that Internet governance
should be "multilateral, transparent, and democratic" and that "no
single government should have a pre-eminent role in relation to
international Internet governance."

But calls for change appeared to have little effect during the Bush administration.

The new agreement, the Affirmation of Commitments, supports
ICANN's continued existence as a private, non-profit organization, one
that's ostensibly independent and not controlled by any one entity. And
it commits the organization to reviews by stakeholders, a step toward
greater accountability.